Trinity Evangel Church

In this great passage there are three titles for the main character, two lines of exceptionally good news, two responses for all who hear, and all around a one-of-a-kind event.

This is probably the story told and celebrated more than any other in the world. It may be the most surprising event in the universe, including more surprising than the creation of the universe. It's one thing for an eternal, omnipotent God to create a cosmos, it's an entirely other thing for God Himself to enter that cosmos, taking on the limits of human humility, and come as a baby. We are still unwrapping the implications.

If you have ears to hear the origin story of the Savior's body, then it will not be hard to hear of His power to rise again from the dead in His body. In that respect, the birth of God in flesh works to increase our certainty in the things we have been taught, just as Luke wanted for those who read his book (Luke 1:4).

So what do we have here? We have the meeting of heaven and earth. We have the praise of men and of angels. We have the announcement of peace and grace and joy. We have shepherds keeping watch over their flock by night, and we have the Chief Shepherd come to save His flock and make all things right. We have bundled joy. We call babies bundles of joy, but there is more joy in this baby’s birth that we are still trying to wrap our minds around. As we unwrap the bundle we still haven’t gotten to the ends of understanding God’s unreasonable pleasure.

The story in Luke 2:8-20 has two main movements, with a transition in verse 21, then we'll try to see how much we can put together.

Because we know God is sovereign, we know that nothing about this event is haphazard. One speculates, and I think we can do this with a biblically shaped imagination, that there were some planning meetings about this particular day. It seems reasonable to think that one day we'll get to talk to some of the angels that participated, and what their preparations looked like.

Instead of showing up outside of Caesar's palace, or over the temple in Jerusalem, or even over the manger, an angel of the Lord appeared to some graveyard shift shepherds outside of Bethlehem. These guys aren't outcasts, but they are no-names. They are important because they received this announcement, they didn’t receive the announcement because they were important. They were just “people,” people just like us. While minding their own business the glory of the Lord shone around them. The heavens declare the glory of God already, and this must have been like being five feet from the sun.

The angel's message is evangel/good news! "Let me have your attention, please. A bundle of joy is being delivered that will change everything in Israel. A child is born at this hour in the city of David, the Savior, the Christ, the Lord. You can find Him bundled up, wrapped in cloths and laid in an animal’s food trough as a sign.”

And without a moment for the shepherds to think the angelic army choir enters with their great lyrics:

Glory to God in the highest,

From heaven to earth, from the highest to the lowest, from glory to glory, peace from God to men even as God is born a man. Gloria in Excelsis!

You've probably heard or seen a variation of the second line: "on earth peace, good will toward men." This is not wrong, but it's based on a different reading found in some Greek copies that isn't likely to be original, though the KJV is hard to get out of our minds, and that’s fine. But the more likely angelic lyric (as translated in the ESV) emphasizes the sovereign grace of God, similar to the Lord's response to Moses when Moses asked to see God's glory. Glory is most visible when God shows grace to those He chooses for grace, and mercy to those He chooses for mercy (see Exodus 33:19). In Jesus is God’s own good pleasure unreasonably shared with men, though not every man receives His favor.

The center of the announcement is in verse 11, and it provides the reason for the good news of great joy in verse 10. The reason is the identity of the one born. He is three things: 1) Savior, 2) Christ, 3) Lord. The combination of these three titles in one person is not found in any other Scripture prophecy or passage.

Savior, one who delivers. It could be one who delivers from enemies or disease, one who rescues from physical or spiritual dangers. Jesus saves.

Christ, is an English word derived from the Greek word that translates the Hebrew word for the Messiah, the anointed one. This title especially connects with the Davidic expectations (so He was born in the city of David), and it refers to His royal position and work. Jesus fulfills, He is the promised One.

Lord, master, one who is in charge over another. But as Luke especially keeps attaching to Jesus (37 times in this gospel), He is Lord of all, the transcendent ruler with all authority. Jesus reigns.

The angels are done. They got one shot. Did they ever appeal to God to get permission to come back at other key moments in Jesus' life? Did they wonder why it wasn't a worldwide show?

The shepherds do go, but it's not a foregone conclusion. The angels don’t guide them or watch to make sure. There are sheep to watch, right? They weren't out in the field just camping under the stars like that was fun. They talk it over, and decided to do it.

How did they know which place had a manger? A couple of these details point toward a particular inn for guests. They likely would have known most of the residents, and maybe even knew that one of the out-of-towners arrived pregnant. The comment about the presence of more than just Joseph and Mary to hear the shepherds' story indicates a more public place, a group was already gathered. Some might have been called to help in the delivery; child labor isn't a silent night deal.

The towns people heard what the shepherds said and wondered. Is that enough?

Mary herself treasured...pondering in her heart (verse 19). The boy arrived just as the angel had announced to her (Luke 1:31). But why didn't the angel/s let her hear this update? Why the shepherds? She’s giving it thought, we’d say she was “mulling things over” (Darrell Bock), trying “to put the pieces together” (Mark Coleridge). Treasuring any revelation from God is a theme so far in Luke’s record. She’ll be doing that for years.

The shepherds themselves went back to work, glorifying and praising God. “Can you believe that?” And, yeah, they do.

Verse 21 is a transition, and it fits more at the end because less time takes place between verses 20 and 21 (eight days) than between verses 21 and 22 (at least 40 days). But it also fits here because Jesus' circumcision focuses on His name: Jesus.

Jesus is His human name, the proper noun, the given name from His earthly parents, the name Gabriel told them before Jesus was born (Luke 1:31). But under the doctrine of Christology, there is no one else like Him. There is salvation in no other name, "Jesus Christ of Nazareth" (Acts 4:10, 12).

"Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified" (Acts 2:36). He is "Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 1:4). We confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and we are saved (Romans 10:9).

Jesus saves. Jesus fulfills the Word. Jesus rules the world.

This is the bundle of joy! Jesus is the one through whom unreasonable good pleasure comes to earth. Mary was not a reasonable choice, the shepherds were not reasonable, Bethlehem itself was not reasonable, except that God had already chosen it to receive this gift.

Mary was trying to put all these things together. Are you still wondering and wandering, or have you received the great joy in Jesus?

God shows grace and mercy in Jesus. Jesus saves, Jesus fulfills, Jesus reigns. This is a story of great joy among men, a story of highest glory for God. Beloved, like the shepherds, return to your work glorying and praising God for all you have heard and seen as it has been told to you.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. (2 Thessalonians 2:16–17 ESV)

I first used one of my favorite illustrations in the context of making disciples. Let's say you have a huge meatball on the plate in front of you and you want to pick the whole thing up all at once. What would you use? You wouldn't use a toothpick, you wouldn’t use a plastic fork, let alone a spork. You'd want a solid metal fork with all its prongs (though technically a fork has tines and a pitchfork has prongs).

If your fork had only one prong, it would slip out or rip through the meatball. You need a multi-prong fork.

It's easy to get the sense that discipleship needs "the" right way, "the" one book, "the" process. But in fact, in order to grow up in Christ, and in order to see each person growing in the body of Christ, it’s not a one-size-fits-all deal. We need a multi-prong approach.

Switching analogies from forks to batons; we want multi-prong forks for sake of clear baton handoffs.

what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. (2 Timothy 2:2 ESV)

Everything needs to be said, and usually more than once. In some ways, until the Head of the church returns, we will always be in a generational hand-off of the faith. The church is the pillar and defense of truth (1 Timothy 3:5), we are to adorn the teaching (Titus 2:10), we are to commend the works of the Lord from one generation to another (Psalm 145:4). Pass it on.

A few more principles:

"Go" in Matthew 28:19 has been the standard English translation for centuries. The Greek word is πορευθέντες, a participle that modifies the only explicit imperative in the commission, “make disciples” (μαθητεύσατε). The same construction occurs in Mark 16:15, “going..preach” (πορευθέντες...κηρύξατε). Though regularly translated as a command, "Go" is more accurately translated “going" or “while going." The participle describes action that should occur before the activity of the main verb (in Matthew 28:18, "make disciples"). So, we must make disciples, and we do that as we're going.

We should train and send missionaries to foreign nations, but realize, we are "the ends of the earth" from a Jerusalem point of view (cf. Acts 1:8). Seattle is 6,766 miles away from Jerusalem. It's great to Go, but that movement is assumed, not commanded.

Making disciples doesn't require anything special, but it does require everything normal. It usually involves the mundane and the daily (think Deuteronomy 6:7). Make disciples at the grocery store, running other errands, attending soccer games, riding in the car, cleaning the house (or someone else's house), weeding, painting, cleaning gutters, responding when the wifi is down. The point is: proactively expose your life to others with Jesus’ name in your mouth and the Bible in your mind. Maximize your path crossings as you are going.

The best curriculum cannot guarantee growth. There are no checklists to complete or shortcuts to wisdom and maturity. Some structure (like organized small groups) may be helpful, but the best program with the wrong people won't make disciples. On the other hand, the right people with the worst program—or even no program at all—will move forward.

“Structures don't grow ministry any more than trellises grow vines.” (Marshall and Payne, The Trellis and the Vine, 17)

Discipleship is personal. How is the person not like Christ (think Colossians 1:28)? How can we help them be more like Christ? Even the programs that we have as a church are intended to get persons in contact with each other.

The air war is great, but don't let the ground war suffer. Making disciples is God's goal to share Himself (and His Trinitarian joy) with men and women from every nation. God delights in Himself, and discipleship is His delight extended and shared with persons. Making disciples is completing the Trinitarian commission.

If you come and soak, okay, and also your joy will be half of what it could be if until you learn to serve and pour yourself back out into someone else's life. There is always someone who knows less than you. You can encourage someone. You're (probably) ready. Every believer has a responsibility to reach out to someone else and make a disciple. Don't just sit there, disciple somebody.

And don’t expect something special when you’re not taking advantage of the regular.

What can you do, where should you start a discipleship journey proper? It is not complicated.

We do keep referring to Life to Life groups because they are a strategic way to focus on the few to reach the many.

We encourage our L2L groups to focus on application. Because we live in a day with a cornucopia of Bible-teaching and theological resources, we want the L2L groups not to be separate Bible studies per se. They are encouraged to consider things that have been said in the air war campaign on the way to implementing on the ground. Understanding is necessary, just as with the men in Ezra’s day (remember Nehemiah 8, especially verses 7-8). Questions about what a text means, or what interpretation the preacher gave, is appropriate. But now that we have heard the Word, how will we be doers of the Word (James 1:22-25)?

For that matter, we get to know one another better as we talk about our challenges. It is personal, and it is a sharing of life, of rejoicing and weeping (Romans 12:15). Related: this is what a podcast can't provide, nor a sermon on YouTube. Many will be tempted to believe that this is what the AI pastor bot is providing. But we are three-dimensional image-bearers, and it is not good to be alone, even if the images on a screen are moving. L2L groups are path-crossing for church-body building.

Fellowship for fellowship's sake collapses in on itself. Fellowship around the truth, around our common confession, fellowship as we walk in the light (1 John 1:7), that is true fellowship.

Of course we also encourage making disciples the old fashioned way: birthing them. “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

The church and home are different spheres. They can be distinguished, they also have overlap. We’re passing on the faith to another generation.

Why do elders not lead L2L groups? Why do elders attend L2L groups? Our pastors participate while other men organize and lead the groups as a prong on the shepherding fork—getting to know and be known. It’s also a prong on the baton-passing fork—evaluating and training more shepherds. And it’s a prong on the growing up in Christ fork—since pastors are also sheep still growing and looking to the chief Shepherd.

The analogy of the trellis and the vine informed the TEC logo. Because it's so easy to let the trellis/programs be the focus over the vine/persons, we have intentionally worked to be less formal. Less formal works better for certain sizes of groups, less formal works for those who already have more familiarity with each other. Less formal doesn't automatically mean unclear, but also it's possible for people to forget, it's possible for people to not pay attention to what's there. It is possible to be new or so unfamiliar that some definitions can help. It's not necessarily an issue of balance, but it is an issue of clarity and love, it is personal and we want it to be that way as much as we can. This brief series on The Adulting Church is part of passing it on.

We seek to equip and encourage so that all the saints are “speaking the truth in love…to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Ephesians 4:15 ESV).

To be a disciple is free, and it costs everything. Following Christ is not a weekly appointment on your calendar, it means He has called you to see every week on your calendar as His. He claims every thumb’s-width in the cosmos, and every tick-tock of your clock. So walk in Him.

[M]ay the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. (1 Thessalonians 3:12–13 ESV)

We're talking in this series about our purpose to see the church body blessed. We're talking about some of the principles behind the work. And we'll include some discussion on the particular practices that we're using, practices that should be consistent with the principles and purposes.

Last week we considered the personal nature of the Great Commission, and even distinguished the category of discipleship proper. In this case the proper indicates the scope of focus more than a strict course to follow. Discipleship proper belongs with the ground war, and ground war complements the air war. Preaching and liturgy belong with the air war, one-on-one or at least living room conversations belong with the ground war.

God's Word gives us more than one way to refer to our goal. Actually, God's Word teaches us more than one goal. As believers, the end is Christlikness, to be mature in Christ, to be faithful followers of Christ, which would include being able to reproduce ourselves like adults. As the church body, the end is also corporate maturity, loving truth and loving each other unto strength in unity under Christ as our Head.

The Great Commission is a church-building project; where there are believers there should be body; many members one body. For that matter, the work of the church is a disciple-making project; where the church is healthy the Christians are healthy, and they raise their kids in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and they live as salt and light in a bland and blind world.

Each year we spend some time focusing on our Lord's Day liturgy, not because it is the only important part of our practice, but because it is our uniquely group activity. We do have other practices, not to replace Sunday morning but to supplement the work, and that includes what we call Life to Life Groups. L2L groups are not quite air or ground, but they are a bridge and a catalyst for air and ground campaigns to be more effective.

Again, these are Bible-driven purposes, even if putting them into practice takes some Bible-informed wisdom. Just as there is no inspired, one-for-all order of service in Scripture, so there is no inspired, one-for-everyone scope and sequence of maturing as a disciple.

Ephesians 4:11 and following does remind us that one of the reasons that God gives churches pastors and teachers is:

to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.

We're not trying to sneak things into this text, but there is a lot of work (ἔργον) and a good amount of freedom left to the pastors and teachers to figure out how to proceed with the work.

The ministry is service (διακονίας); to serve is to provide, to serve is to be of use in achieving something. As we meditate together on this, what is your purpose for serving and what are the different ways you can serve? As for the goal, that's clear. As for the methods, that is less clear only because it’s less limited.

The paragraph answers why we serve: the good of our fellow body-members, and even more, the good of the group. We have a reputation as a church, we have strengths and weaknesses as a church, not just as persons who confess that Jesus is Lord. Jesus is saving men and women, and He is sanctifying a collective Bride. In Ephesians 4:12-16 we’re looking for:

The bookends, so to speak, are the built up (εἰς οἰκοδομὴν verse 12 and 16). This is the ministry: edification/building/strengthening of each unto the building up of the whole.

So how do you, can you, work properly toward this purpose? Where does it happen? It doesn't happen in any one way or any one place. It also doesn't happen if you're not (ever) thinking about it or trying to do something.

One reason the elders resist giving too many specific methods is because it is very easy for people to think that "serving" only happens at certain times and places (which note, is following the example of Paul even in the passage). Maybe you’ve heard, if the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Let’s modify that: everything should be for building up the body so use whatever tool you have.

The saints must be equipped to sacrifice in service, and what's the plan for that? What tools and tactics can/should be employed? What training and opportunities are there?

Pastors/elders/shepherds should be the first-step-takers. But even though we have a plurality of elders, we cannot accomplish life-on-life, discipleship proper, with each person in the assembly. In fact, the only women we meet regularly with one-on-one are our wives and daughters. But we can be responsible to oversee, both in providing and protecting, directing and defending, the extension of that work. And to the degree that we pull that off, we're successfully equipping the saints to multiply the serving beyond what the five of us could accomplish by ourselves.

To treat pastors as the only level of leadership in the body is not only impractical, it actually misses the point of Ephesians 4:12.

When we examine Jesus' life, serving, teaching, and exampling, we see that He did not spend the same amount of time with every individual. He did not refuse to talk with anyone, but He did not invest with equality. The principle He modeled is focus on the few to reach the many. And here we are today, even though Jesus had 11 faithful men, among whom 3 were more on the inner circle, at least according to how many times they are mentioned.

The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman traces Jesus' steps and is must read material.

So our pastors are not hermetically sealed off from any particular sheep in the field. And also, for strategy's sake, we give more consideration to some men more than others. That next group are mostly, though not entirely, made up of those we refer to as L2L leaders. We have some addition meetings, discussions, and actually even qualifications for that group of men. We're investing a lot of our equipping dollars in that group, so that they can also invest in more men themselves.

L2L groups are also not really places for discipleship proper, though we do anticipate that some discipleship proper relationships will be connected to L2Ls. L2Ls help us with the shepherding of how the saints are building one another up.

Children (see that language in Ephesians 4:14) tend to struggle more with being 1) gullible, 2) fearful, 3) selfish, 4) immature. The work of the ministry is to encourage each other, speaking the truth in love, unto spiritual maturity, to manhood, to no longer being children. Again, try to consider how an entire church might be like a child, or like an adult. Let’s be an Adulting Church.

For a number of reasons it’s time to give some refreshers about the small group part of our church trellis. The last time we had any sermons on Life to Life groups was 2012, and, that's actually a long time ago. We have also been working to re-evaluate and clarify the purpose for our Life to Life leaders, as well as the expectations for current leaders and the process for identifying and onboarding future leaders. So this short break from Luke will have some reminders, give some categories and some standard operating principles.

I’m thinking about calling this series: The Adulting Church. If we rephrased Ephesians 4:16, "when each life is working properly, [it] makes the body life grow so that it builds itself up in love." We’re moving from our teen years into “mature manhood” (Ephesians 4:13).

Today we're going to consider where that mindset comes from and our general strategy for developing the life of Christ in our body. This is the work of shepherding, it is the work of disciple-making, the work of the ministry. There are principles and purpose, then there are the persons and the tactics.

When Jesus commanded His disciples to "make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19), what steps do you think that disciple-making project took in the disciples' minds? It certainly is NOT exactly the same as what we're doing in the 21st century church, though, that's not entirely a bad thing.

For obvious historical and technological reasons, the 1st century disciples could not have imagined the world-wide-web that enables almost instantaneous and global transmission of the gospel. Church web sites, Christian blogs and tweets and #blessed signs at Hobby Lobby, free sermon mp3 downloads and podcasts to carry in one's pocket, live-cast conference videos and DVD sets, any one of those things would have blown their minds. The book as we know its format wasn't even printed for another 1400 years after the apostles, and radio broadcasts were another almost 500 years after that. While Israelite men travelled to Jerusalem every year for the Passover “conference,” making disciples did not involve flying in celebrity pastors or flying to hear said speakers gathered for national Bible-centered conferences.

The disciples could not have imagined 2000 years worth of accumulated commentaries and devotional helps that fill the library shelves of laymen (or their Bible apps, or asking AI), let alone seminary trained book nerds. No doubt they would covet (an allowable Christian practice) our ability to travel with relative ease to all nations, to communicate so broadly and so quickly, even while we're sleeping, and to learn about Christ with a completed canon, let alone to stand on generations of study-ers and writers, and hear sermons in our comfortable corporate gathering spots for Lord's day services.

They would say we have very favorable conditions for making disciples. I think they would also say we're not doing very good/well at making disciples. The primary reason is because: making disciples is personal.

Think about the personal implications of the Great Commission.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19–20 ESV)

Going in Person. "Go" or “while going" is different than writing or calling or publishing. The "feet of those who preach the good news" are beautiful (Romans 10:15) because the feet go along with mouth that belong to the person that brings the gospel.

The Practice of μαθητεύω. The disciples would have thought about making disciples as they thought about being disciples. A disciple was "one who was constantly associated with someone who had a particular set of views" (μαθητής, BAGD). A disciple listened to the master or teacher and learned from him because he was there with him. They had been following a Person for three years when He gave them this assignment.

The Ordinance of Baptism. Forget for a moment what baptism pictures (identifying with the Person of Christ and with the persons of His Body), just consider the act itself. A book can't baptize anybody, a pulpit or sermon download can't either. It takes at least two persons: a dunk-er and a dunk-ee. There are no remote or online baptisms, nor is it part of a person's quiet time.

Teaching to Obey. In the discipleship process, the object of teaching is only learning to the degree that the learning leads to living. In knowledge terms, the demons know theology more accurately than we do and not because they’ve read Calvin's Institutes. A podcast may describe, in a general way, what you should do, but it cannot demonstrate for you what obedience looks like in the wild. A website cannot watch to see if you obeyed, or provide suggestions for next time, or confront you on disobedience.

The disciples learned what discipleship looked like from their Discipler. When Jesus "called to Him those whom He desired...He appointed twelve so that they might be with Him and he might send them out to preach" (Mark 3:13-14). He appointed them to hang out with Himself. Yes, He taught and ministered to the masses. But by far, most of His time and attention was personally invested in 12 ordinary men.

The apostle Paul, author of the majority of the New Testament, also understood and practiced teaching "in public and from house to house" (Acts 20:20, and see the record of his meeting with the elders in Ephesus in Acts 20:17-35).

Paul was committed to "the gospel of the grace of God" (v.24). He "did not shrink from declaring...the whole counsel of God" (v.27). He commended the Ephesians "to God and to the word of His grace which is able to build...up and give...an inheritance among all those who are sanctified" (v.32). He loved him some truth. He loved him the Bible; he was writing (some of) it!

So, why bother going to be with them? Why bother living "among" them (v.18)? Why live with them so long, for three years (v.31)? Why work "night and day" (v.31)? Why was he crying over them (v.31)? Because, while it is important to "preach the word" (2 Timothy 4:2), and while God may make large group preaching effective, making disciples is personal. How would Paul know if his declaration was "profitable" (v.20)? Why was teaching "house to house" necessary? Because each house had individual needs, whether they knew that they needed (let alone wanted) help or not.

Spurgeon once wrote that "Illustrations, like windows, let light into the chambers of the mind." That is very true. Windows are also easier to throw bricks through, so I'm aware that this illustration will break at certain pressure points.

Perhaps the best analogy I've heard for distinguishing between public and personal elements of making disciples, while also recognizing the benefits of both, is to think about it in terms of the air war and the ground war. From Acts 20:20, ministry that is public and from house to house.

The air war, or air campaign, illustrates large scale efforts, both with remote launching of explosives and blanket distributing of provisions. Corporate services, and then books and websites can cover a lot of people. Preachers fire gospel missiles from the pulpit that target sin. They also drop spiritual food and medication for hurting souls. As I said earlier, our air war arsenal is far more abundant than the disciples could ask or imagine.

But the air war, by definition, can only be so effective because it can only get so close.

The ground war or ground campaign represents more small scale, careful and incisive movement. Again, this includes both close-range gospel confrontation and personal gospel care. A sermon might demolish one house of sin and leave the neighbor's house standing. A door-to-door deployment is harder to avoid, and a face-to-face question is a harder to dodge. You can, but it's more difficult at close range. Likewise, having a first-aid kit is great, unless you can't get to it or don't know what to do with it. Troops on the ground carry out disciple-making objectives in close quarters. An air war could write a constitution but not by itself establish government or better living conditions.

For sake of making disciples, is the air campaign or the ground campaign more important? We shouldn't need to ask the question. If both were available and coordinated toward the same objective, would we really ask which is better? Why not both? Do you want cake or ice cream? Yes!

The two approaches complement each other. This isn't a competition; we're on the same side (or at least we should be). There's certainly room for, and benefits of, both. Can you imagine why a pilot would be threatened by a foot soldier wearing the same colors, or visa versa?

The two should work together, each appreciating the benefits the other provides. I'm more confident when I'm on the ground knowing that I've got air support. When I'm in the air I'm more hopeful knowing that someone is following-up (cleaning up) on the ground.

I think the air war is more expensive; it takes more equipment to get it off the ground. It is also more visible. That's the public, large-scale nature of it.

But the ground war is much harder, much slower, more time and energy consuming, and not always easy to measure. It requires less equipment but many more troops. Working with a difficult person is harder than working with a difficult text. One keeps moving, the other doesn’t.

Advancing God’s Word on the ground isn't just bold exhortations from a distance, it's looking someone in the eye, and still imploring them to be reconciled to God. It isn't just plopping a pallet full of bandages in their front yard, it's going inside, seeing their wounds, and wrapping the bandage.

I would be sad if the Internet crashed forever or if the government outlawed large group meetings. My soul benefits from reading and downloading, and it's a privileged part of my calling to address groups of people. But even though my disciple-making takes advantages of air war tactics, it isn't defined by the air war. Most discipleship isn't.

Let’s distinguish discipleship from discipleship proper, just as we distinguish between theology and theology proper. Theology involves the study of anything related to God; theology proper involves the things that relate to the nature of God Himself. So, discipleship is any activity that helps people follow Christ, and discipleship proper is one person helping another person follow Christ.

I have never heard a message on personal discipleship at any Shepherds' Conference. I've never found a book on personal discipleship by any of my theological heroes: Augustine, Tyndale, Luther, Calvin, Edwards, Spurgeon, MacArthur, or Piper. Actually, there are precious few resources on the process period. You can find books on preaching, on leadership, on church government, on missions, but not many on making disciples proper.

Churches with world-class air campaigns often fail miserably on the ground. I think our camp of evangelicalism has been sending most of our funding and training efforts to the air force. That has had an unfortunate consequence of making others think that the truly spiritual are the Bible teachers. Though our books don't define disciple-making as such, we have very few examples of bayonet fighters (like General Chamberlain) and first-responders.

We are in a worship war. We are called to fight against all false and lukewarm worship. We are in a righteousness battle, calling men everywhere to submit to the reign of the Lord until they obey in Him all things as His disciples. We are up against false gods, wrong thinking, weak affections, and unfaithfulness. We must bring the gospel that powerfully wrecks sinners and powerfully restores the wounded.

We've raised the issue of personal discipleship by briefly considering what the apostles would have thought about the Great Commission, Paul's ministry in public and from house to house, as well as a (pragmatic) analogy for the sake of raising our appreciation for ground work. To reach "every man" (Colossians 1:28), to labor from house to house, we've got to equip the saints and divide the labor.

In order for the church to mature and grow (in the Ephesians 4:16 sense) there must be groundwork. There is, as usual, more to say, but this is the principle that drives the practice of our Life to Life groups.

Discipleship “proper” doesn’t mean you must follow a specific and strict 12-step program, but it does mean you must remember that you are Christ’s, you must follow Christ’s Word, and you should help others also follow Christ. This is for your good and the building up of the body.

And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (Acts 20:32 ESV)

In order of testimonies:

If you’d seen your Master crucified on Friday, what would you want to hear on Sunday? According to Peter and John, Jesus' tomb was empty (John 20:1-10). Then Mary Magdalene came and said she had seen the Lord and that He gave her a message about ascending to heaven (John 20:11-18). If any seed of hope started to grow in your heart that Jesus was alive again, what would you want to hear Jesus say?

Remember that when the authorities arrested Him, you ran. The shepherd was struck and the sheep scattered (Matthew 26:31). Which would be heavier: your grief or your guilty conscience? What if Jesus really is alive? What will He think of how you handled the last few days?

The disciples only had to wait until Sunday evening to find out. What Jesus says first is not quite "Peace be with you," as the ESV translates, but more precisely, "Peace to you." The Greek (εἰρήνη ὑμῖν) may assume a verb, but it’s compact. Jesus is not expressing a wish; may peace be with you. He is making a declaration. The risen Lord who just purchased peace is now announcing it to the men who abandoned Him.

And what is this peace? A feeling of calm? That starts to scratch it. It’s not the absence of all conflict; there is great trouble, sorrow, and fear all around. Peace in verse 19 corresponds to shalom, a word of wholeness, of harmony. It describes a certainty that the important things are in the right place, and the rest of the things don’t matter or will be arranged in place at the right time.

When Jesus stands before His frightened disciples and declares "Peace to you," He is saying: the thing that was broken between you and God is now fixed. I fixed it. It is finished, and here I am to prove it.

In verses 19-20 John emphasizes the comfort of this peace. In verses 21-23 John describes the commission that flows from it.

Jesus makes clear both His resurrection and His attitude toward them.

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. (John 20:19–20)

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the disciples were together behind locked doors... for fear of the Jews. Having arrested and crucified Jesus, would the Jewish authorities hunt down His followers? The disciples met together rather than separating, but not in the open.

Then Jesus came and stood among them. John doesn't say Jesus walked through the doors or simply appeared. Somehow, in a miraculous way, Jesus came through the physical barriers. The reason the disciples locked the doors is fear. Jesus appearing among them was startling if not a new reason to fear what He would say to them.

And he said to them, "Peace to you." Jesus promised this peace on Thursday night: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you" (John 14:27a). He immediately followed that by saying, "Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, 'I am going away, and I will come to you'" (verses 27b-28a). He's back just as He said. He didn't take His peace away from them, He secured it for them.

What a burden of grief He could have laid on them. Instead, peace first.

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and side. This confirms three things.

First, Jesus' identity. He is the same one who had been crucified and pierced on Friday. Second, Jesus' bodily resurrection. The disciples were seeing Him in the flesh, not a vision. Third, Jesus' peace. This is what makes His declaration so thick. His wounds bought and brought peace with God (see Isaiah 53:5). The scars are the proof of purchase; He made “peace by the blood of his cross” (Colossians 1:20).

Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. They should have rejoiced. Jesus was alive, He was with them, and He declared peace to them even though they had deserted Him. The risen Lord replaced their confusion, their conviction, and their cowering with the comfort of one word: peace.

Jesus makes clear His intent to use them going forward.

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit." (John 20:21–22)

Jesus restates His message: again, "Peace to you." The repetition means more than Hello. His wounds purchased their peace with God. Peace is a reason to rejoice. And peace comes with responsibility to announce it to others.

As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. Jesus already prayed this in their hearing (John 17:18). He hadn’t abandoned His plan even though they had abandoned Him. He commissions them. And He supports their commission: he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

The peace that comforted them now compels them. They are not merely recipients of His peace, He sends them as representatives of it.

“This peace is not merely to fortify the hearts of the disciples amid all the enmity and hatred of the world; they are to be possessors of the Lord's peace because as his witnesses and messengers they are to dispense this very gift of peace in a peaceless world.” (Lenski, p. 1369)

There is no greater comfort and no more compelling commission than what the risen Jesus gave that Sunday evening.

He found His men fearful and hiding. He declared them forgiven and showed them the proof of His victory. Then He sent them out.

We have reasons to rejoice this Easter morning.

The peace Jesus declared that evening is the same peace He declares to everyone receiving Him. It is not a wish. It is a fact, accomplished by His death and confirmed by His rising. It is for you who believe, it is for your children who believe. It is for our comfort, it is our commission from our risen Lord. Peace to you!

Jesus is risen from the dead, so all who believe in Him have peace.

MEDITATE on peace. "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts" (Colossians 3:15).

MEDIATE this peace. We preach the “good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all)” (Acts 10:36).

Peace to you!

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20–21 ESV)

The best form of government is a Monarchy.

The history of the West, long before America's War for Independence, has gone through all sorts of political strife and structures. We're born into one political system and think that's the way it's always been. But a Constitutional Republic - the sort that we're blessed with in America - is a very recent endeavor in our overall historical narrative.

The West has tried on all sorts of political clothes. Our current system of modern liberty is pretty new, and can trace its roots to the Protestant Reformation.

John Calvin summarized the basic options we have when it comes to government institutions: a Monarchy, an Aristocracy, or a Democracy. Samuel Rutherford wrote Lex Rex, arguing for a Constitutional limited government. John Locke expounded on the people's consent. And James Madison put a lot of that together when he drafted much of the United States Constitution.

Today we enjoy the blessings of these ideas in consequence. A Constitutional Republic with limited government is the best form of government we've had on this side of Adam's rebellion.

We have had to try on all these political clothes, dressing and changing, because men are sinners.

In Federalist 51, James Madison writes,

If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. (Federalist 51)

And yet, men are not angels. Men are depraved. Limited authority is the best bet we have when having to deal with the sinful ambitions of men.

And so, we argue and debate, filibuster and freeze budgets, vote and elect. It limits sin, yes. But it also limits righteousness. It limits the good a righteous ruler may intend to do. It's necessary, yes. And it's all extremely inefficient and exhausting. And, even with all of the checks and balances, how much evil still gets through?

That's why I believe the best form of government is a Monarchy... as long as you have an inherently wise and fully righteous monarch. If there was no sin, the most efficient and productive form of government would be a monarch ruling with expediency, building for the good of his constituents.

And that's what we will have in King Jesus. He will rule as a Monarch, an Emperor. There will be no need for our votes controlling folly; no need for our political theory controlling sinful ambition. We will not be poor subjects waiting for permission from a power-hungry tyrant. No, we will rule as kings. We will build, make decisions, and bear productive fruit. But we will be kings within his Empire, laying down our crowns at his feet.

There will be no sin and no strife. We will live in the Kingdom of Peace, with the King of Peace at its helm. What a day that will be. And that King of Peace reveals himself by riding into Jerusalem on a donkey colt some 2000 years ago.

For this Palm Sunday, we're going to review that scene from Luke chapter 19, verses 28-44. I'm going to pull 3 main points out of this section. It's 3 points about the King.

We typically associate the Triumphal Entry with Jesus coming into town like he normally would, and a spontaneous crowd bursts out into praise. But that's not what we see happen here. Jesus is not a passive actor in this scene, simply receiving praise. Not at all. Jesus is the one who sets the entire scene up. He's the protagonist.

Jesus sent 2 disciples to bring the colt that he knew was ready for him. And to make sure the owners knew it, they were told, "The Lord has need of it."

Jesus then sits on this colt and rides it into the city. This is the only recorded moment in the 4 gospels when Jesus rides an animal. So, no, this was not just another normal stroll into town that was interrupted by the crowd. Like an effective politician, he set this up.

Jesus was not responding to what they were doing. They were responding to what he was doing. He planned this. He organized it. He made it happen. Jesus intended for exactly this to occur.

Jesus was revealing himself to be the King the prophets spoke of, in line with the prophecy from Zechariah 9:9. Him organizing for a colt to be ready for him to enter Jerusalem is on purpose. This is a symbolic act to show the people that he is their king.

Where earlier he would tell people not to make him known, here he is very explicit in his communication. He's proclaiming himself to be the Messiah. He is revealing himself to be the long-awaited, rightful King of Israel.

The prophecy in Zechariah tells us what the colt was supposed to demonstrate - humility.

Yes, there will be a time when King Jesus will enter on a great white horse. But this entry is introducing the humble king. So humble, in fact, that not only is he riding a donkey, but he's riding the colt of a donkey - an animal that has not even been prepared to be ridden. The colt demonstrates the humility of the king.

But don't let his humility deceive you. He very much is the King. He has revealed himself to be. And he receives worthy praise.

This multitude is acknowledging Jesus as "the King who comes in the name of the Lord." They publicly proclaimed him to be. "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!" The crowds exclaim.

This was indeed pretty risky for Jesus. This is not a private confession, as was Peter's. This is a public rally heralding Jesus as the Son of David - the rightful King of the Jews. The religious leaders are based in Jerusalem. King Herod is in Jerusalem. If Jesus didn't want to draw this sort of attention, he would've told the disciples to cut it out.

But the exact opposite happens. Not only was it Jesus' initiative to make a scene here, when the Pharisees tell him to make his disciples stop, he rejects their demand. Jesus approves of the behavior of the crowd, and says it must happen. "It's either them or the stones." I don't think the stones crying out would have helped the Pharisees' case.

Again, the King is the protagonist. He's not passive. The emphasis is to be put on Jesus revealing himself and receiving their praise. He set it up to happen. And he approves of it happening.

Luke is the only one who records this part of the Triumphal Entry about Jesus weeping over Jerusalem. Jesus approaches Jerusalem as the rightful King of Israel. He receives the welcome and praise, but he knows what's about to happen. He knows that the leaders of the city, along with many in it, will reject him. They will do so because they don't know the things that make for peace.

The things that make for peace were hidden from their eyes, and so they did not know the time of their visitation.

This is where many commentators, I believe, mistake what's happening. They claim that the Jews misunderstood the nature of the Messiah's rule. If they would have seen that the rule of the Messiah was to be spiritual, with a spiritual kingdom, they would have received their King.

Except that the context of Zechariah is about a physical kingdom, not a spiritual, non-political one. You can't eisegete the text and call it exegesis. And the most common title for the awaited for king of Israel - the Messiah - is the "Son of David." Where was David's throne? On earth. So, where will the Son of David's throne be? On earth. The "Son of David" is not a heavenly title.

So, no, Jesus' rule should not be reduced to a spiritual reality. Jesus' claim was and is political. The Jews did not misunderstand the nature of his rule.

What they misunderstood was its means.

The rule of the Messiah was, indeed, going to be physical. But the way he was going to bring about his physical reign was through spiritual means. He was going to build it inside-out. The cup would be washed on the inside, so that the outside would be clean. The Kingdom of the Son of David will be brought about through changed hearts turning to him for forgiveness and cleansing - a people made new. The Kingdom of the Son of David is more than physical, but it isn't less.

And because the Jews reject their King, they are judged by the King. Because they did not know the things that make for peace, they will not have peace.

Notice how Luke introduces the Triumphal Entry. Right before Jesus entering Jerusalem, Luke tells us about Jesus' Parable of the Ten Minas. We usually remember the nobleman who gave minas to his servants. But that parable also included citizens who lived on the nobleman's lands who "hated him" and said, "We do not want this man to reign over us." And the very last verse of that parable is the nobleman dealing with these citizens, whom he now calls his enemies.

Luke bookends the Triumphal Entry with the parable of the nobleman slaughtering his enemies who didn't want him to reign over them, and with Jesus weeping over Jerusalem because it rejected the things that make for peace. Luke's depiction of the Triumphal Entry and Israel's rejection of its King is him playing out that section of the Parable of the Ten Minas in real time.

What makes for peace? What does peace have to do with government?

Peace is the end of government. That's the entire point of good politics. Peace for its constituents is the ultimate objective of the government institution, whether it be a monarchy, aristocracy, or democracy.

The reason we want our God-given rights secured, the reason we want justice upheld, is so that we can have peace. Without rights secured, there is only tyranny. Without justice, there is only strife. Without the preservation of life, liberty, and property, there is only war.

Prosperous peace is the end of righteous rule.

And yet, even in America, our longing for peace remains unfulfilled. Our thirst for tranquility remains unquenched. Our hunger for security remains unsatisfied. We long for peace.

The things that make for peace, the only things that make for peace, is submitting to Jesus as Lord over all, and living in line with his kingdom ethic. The end of government is prosperous peace. The only way we get there is by bowing the knee to Jesus as Lord every day in every sphere.

But as America drifts from Christ, it drifts into strife. We can't have it both ways.

The things that make for peace is bowing to the King of Peace.

On the Triumphal Entry, when Jesus rode on the colt proclaiming himself to be the King of Peace, he was entering into Jerusalem - the City of Peace. That's what Jerusalem means - City of Peace.

Out of all cities, this one should have known better. And yet, it did not know the time of its visitation. The City of Peace rejected the King of Peace. And so, they endure judgment to this day.

The City of Peace will have its King of Peace. It will have its visitation again. And they will say again, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" But until that day, it is under God's judgement.

And if the City of Peace is judged until it bows the knee to the King of Peace, how much more so are we if we do not submit to Christ? The only way for our nation to know peace is by submitting to this same King of Peace, and living in line with his kingdom ethic - from the righteousness we each pursue individually, to the laws we enact collectively.

We cannot hold on to our sin, and expect to have peace. It's sin or peace, you can't have it both ways.

The way of peace is only through confessing Jesus - the King of Peace - as Lord, and living in line with his Kingdom ethic.

The opening of Luke chapter 2 might be the most familiar part in Luke's gospel, and certainly the most recognizable lines about the birth of Jesus in all the Bible for these last 2026 years. They sound familiar, they are no longer that surprising, and yet the longer we look at these verses the more we might realize our image of the birth story is more fuzzy than factual.

I don't want to poke holes in our nativity scenes, the ones in our minds or the ones we bought from Target. It's not more mature to be a killjoy, and certainly not about the Incarnation. That said, there's plenty of joy in the story as we read it in Scripture, and there are some surprises yet to be discovered. We're not looking for new info as much as we're looking with fresh eyes.

Let's see what Luke says, note a few things that he doesn't say, and then consider how what happens here has changed everything.

Luke opens this section with a setting of context and contrast. We're in the days of Caesar Augustus. Caesar became a title like “emperor”; it was not a first name. And Augustus was also a title, not this monarch’s original name. He was born Gaius Octavius, and the Roman Senate honored him with the title “Augustus” (meaning “majestic”) in BC 27 a few years after he had defeated Mark Antony and ended the civil war (Garland).

The context includes all the world, or at least the “inhabited world.” The Roman Empire dominated the world at this point; it was the center of activity and the most important, civilization-shaping force. All roads led to Rome, all rule came from Rome, the Caesar did whatever he wanted, because no one had more power than him.

Taking a census implied power to take taxes. To be registered was to be listed by the government for sake of knowing how many people needed to pay, since Jews wouldn’t be registering for military service (Bock). It's why the KJV translation skips straight to a decree “that all the world should be taxed.”

But this historical context is also a contrast in power and extent of rule. Caesar Augustus, at the top of his administrative game, had nothing compared to the kid King born in his days. For those with eyes to see God’s hand, we know Augustus himself was only doing what God ordained in His providence.

Verse 2 adds detail, but do you know what these details are doing? Who is Quirinius, and what does Syria have to do with Judea? Who cares about Syria?

Syria was north of Galilee and the governor of Syria was the "point man" for Roman interests in the Eastern Mediterranean. Those living in the "sub-provinces” of Judea and Galilee had to comply with the rules set out by the Syrian administration, and outranked Herod the king of Judea (Luke 1:5). So naming the current emperor tells us the era and naming the governor tells us who put boots on the ground.

There’s another historical question. The Jewish historian Josephus records a census under Quirinius in AD 6, but Jesus was born before Herod the Great died in 4 BC, a gap of about ten years. There are a few credible explanations, including that Quirinius may have served in an earlier military or administrative role in Syria before his later, well-documented governorship. But Luke’s history has only been proven accurate, so we can trust his info.

Verse 3 also isn't really quite as obvious as we picture. First, what percent of the world population was actually traveling at this point? And second, were they all traveling on the same weekend? Third, what even does own town mean? Birth place, because of local birth records? Family property?

Most people probably didn't have to go home, they were home. And such a census was taken over the course of a year, so it's not like Bethlehem was the Leavenworth of Israel where everyone was going on the same weekend for the tree lighting. It wasn't a "special" occasion, even though in God's providence it became one for us.

We first heard about Joseph in Luke 1:27; Mary was betrothed to Joseph. Apparently both Joseph and Mary lived in the town of Nazareth, which was in the region called Galilee.

Joseph needed to travel for sake of obeying the census requirement. He had to go from Galilee south to Judea (no mention of Samaria), and he needed to go to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, about 90 miles away. This chapter (verses 4 and 11) is the only place in the Bible that refers to the city of David as other than Jerusalem. But Bethlehem was the hometown of David’s dad (Jesse, see 1 Samuel 17:12, 58), so it is accurate even if not frequent. All this suggests that “ancestral registration” was the reason for going to Bethlehem (Bock).

We know from Micah 5 that the prophet foretold the birth of the messiah from a little town called Bethlehem.

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,

Luke 2:5 is also surprising. Why was Mary traveling with him? She's still called his betrothed, which continues the theme that Mary and Joseph still had not met in the marriage bed. But why would the betrothed travel? Married, sure. Again the verse seems to answer that it's because she was with child.

From his side, Joseph knew that he was to be responsible for this son (which we know because of Matthew's account). And since she was near her due date, Joseph wanted her with him. From her side, did Mary remember the prophecy? “he shall be great to the ends of the earth” (Micah 5:4 ESV).

This has to be in the top three of most understated verses in the Bible.

This does not describe the couple rolling into town late at night after all the other travelers took the best hotel rooms. They had been in Bethlehem for some unspecified number of days. Plus, again, it's not certain how many other out-of-towners there really were. And they didn't have hotels like we think of.

They were there. She gave birth. That's the story.

It was her firstborn son, a statement not necessarily about her having more kids, though we know she did. Firstborn is a key spot, the rightful heir, though usually it would be connected to the father.

It was standard to wrap a kid in cloth, like a blanket. This would be part of the sign to the shepherds (see verse 12).

The manger was a “feeding trough” for animals, which suggests a place where animals would be, like a stall, but there is no mention of actual animals in the room. Records show that many houses had a main room for the family, then an attached building or room, sometimes with a place for guests on top and storage/warm place for animals underneath.

There is no mention of a grumpy inn keeper (named Guido). The word inn is also imagined more by us than what it probably was. The Greek word kataluma is the same word used for the upper room in Luke 22:11, so it's a guest room, not a commercial inn.

In The Last Battle, Lucy said, “in our world too, a stable once had something inside it that was bigger than our whole world.”

What is significant: BC and AD, abbreviations for Before Christ and anno Domini, “in the year of our Lord.” The monk, Dionysius Exiguus, first reckoned years this way in 525 (while trying to calculate the date for Easter). We've got people pushing BCE/BE (Before Common Era and Common Era) these days, but if anyone asks why the change, it still gets back to the same thing: Jesus' birth. The years of the world’s history are measured according to God’s visit (remember Zechariah’s song, Luke 1:68 and 78).

Luke describes the most significant birth in human history…and just moves on? The Messiah, the Son of David, the King of kings, the Most High in flesh, in the form of a humble baby. This is the pivotal moment in eternity. The birth of our Lord is when history hinged.

God was sovereignly orchestrating world events to deliver on an ancient promise, and it arrived without any of the fanfare we'd expect.

What is God putting into place today?

We are given apostolic application from the history and theology of Christ’s birth. Have the mind of Christ among yourselves (Phil 2:5). You do have this mind in Christ Jesus, you have the example of Christ. So, as you have been encouraged in Christ, seek the good of one another.

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5–6 ESV)

Zechariah is fired up that his mouth is opened. More than only a natural positive response, the Holy Spirit fills him with praise and prophecy. This is a spiritual song, we know it's an inspired song. It contains psalm-like reasoning, but we might want to make sure we know what he’s talking about.

As Mary's song was called the Magnificat after the first word in the Latin translation, so Zechariah's song has been known as the Benedictus, also after the first word in Latin. It means “Blessed be.” It's the first explicit blessed be the Lord in Luke's book. It's blessing not as in favor from the Lord (as was said about Mary) but blessing the Lord for His favor.

This spiritual praise song is not subjective, as in, it's not Zechariah's personal testimony of what the Lord taught him, though that would’ve been good. This spiritual praise song eventually gets around to Zechariah's own son, which would have been not only more personal but very appropriate. He had had an angel come from the Lord's presence to give that announcement. And yet this spiritual praise song is about God's promise to deliver Israel.

It's not actually Christian, at least not like we think about Christian. On the timeline, the first disciples to be called Christians were those in Antioch (Acts 11:26), decades after this event in Luke 1. It’s also not really Christian in that it’s still focus on one nation, not all the nations. In fact this observation has added weight to the argument that Zechariah actually said it, and that he said it at this time before Jesus was even born, because it represents Jewish hopes and Jewish reasons for praising the Lord based on Old Testament Scriptures. Had it have been written later, let alone written by someone in the church long after and read back into Zechariah's mouth, the expectations would have been less physical and less national.

So we've got evidence that recommends Zechariah's authorship, and good, but then maybe we have to ask, was Zechariah's approach immature? Was Zechariah wrong, as in, if he really knew what was going to happen with Jesus' ministry and teaching and death and resurrection, would he have edited his praise?

Well, why did Luke include it, some 30 years after Jesus? Luke had the perspective. Luke could have tweaked it, he could have made an editorial comment, sort of like he did about John himself in verse 66, or he could have just left it out of his record altogether. But Luke offers no correction.

Even more than that, the credit for this perspective of praise belongs not to Zechariah but to the Holy Spirit. This is exactly what the Spirit wanted sung, and then put in Scripture. "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel." It’s in the first verse of the song! And it’s included to increase our certainty in what we’ve been taught, just as Zechariah himself had learned.

Verse 67 tells us whose word this is, verse 80 gives a growing-up summary, and then the song is divided by two uses of the idea of visitation.

Verses 68-75 are one long sentence.

It makes no sense to say that Israel means Jesus. In other places we do see that in some ways Jesus is the ultimate Israelite, one who is God’s Servant and completely faithful unlike Israel. But also Jesus is the one who saves Israel, He fulfills the promises for their good, not fulfills the promises in their stead.

A person is involved. Without saying Jesus' name, Zechariah refers to this one that his son would announce as the horn of salvation, an image of battle and strength leading to victory (for example, Psalm 148:14). Think of an ox with horns, and so many warriors wore horned helmets to symbolize the power (see Deuteronomy 33:17, Bock). He's from the house of his servant David, part of the Davidic covenant, resonating with Gabriel's words to Mary (1:32).

Salvation was promised by the holy prophets of old, they would be saved from our enemies. There would be the mercy promised to our fathers. God would remember his holy covenant, referring to the oath that he swore to our father Abraham. And again, delivered from the hand of our enemies.

This salvation is not simply salvation of individual souls, but a generational, even militaristic salvation. There would be forgiveness of sins (see verse 77), but it's not spiritual only.

For that matter, it is not saved to get off earth and into heaven. Zechariah looks to those who are saved to serve. The description at the end of verse 74 into verse 75 shows the purpose: that we...might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. There is no language here that limits serving to the temple or to certain days. It's all the days. This anticipates a life of serving not just following a set liturgy.

The second section of the song is also one long sentence. It opens with a reference to John, but his name is not said (which Zechariah would have been a big deal to Zechariah since his faith to name his son John is what got his speech back). But in the song it’s not as much his son’s identity as it is his role.

What a title: Prophet of the Most High. It's the third mention of the Most High in Luke 1. Gabriel said that Mary's son would be the Son of the Most High (verse 32), and it would be the power of the Most High that would cause Mary to conceive as a virgin (verse 35). This Most High was coming.

The work of the prophet would be less predictive but still preparatory. The prophet would point to the Lord and also give knowledge of salvation, especially in the forgiveness of their sins.

The ESV has tender mercy in verse 78. It’s σπλάγχνα ἐλέους, “bowels of mercy.” It’s the guts, the inward parts, the place where a man’s care comes from. Compassion moves the Lord. Mercy was promised (verse 72), and mercy is behind the prophet's message. Mercy is behind forgiveness, and mercy is behind the dawning of the sun, light to those in darkness, guidance and peace.

The sunrise shall visit us from on high! He is the dawn, the “dayspring” (KJV), the “morning star.” He is the saving light!

In verse 68, Zechariah uses the past tense, God "has visited" and redeemed His people, as a completed act. But then in verse 78 the same root verb appears in the future tense: the sunrise "shall visit us." So within a single hymn of praise, God's redemptive visitation is treated as both accomplished fact and coming reality.

Many years ago near the end of my days living in Southern California I got tired of waking up to sun again every morning. “Again? Can’t there just be a cloud?” Now having lived in Marysville for almost 25 years, I have empathy for those who appreciate the sun. The sky is a great metaphor for our souls, and God is not tired of the light. And in one way, we live after the sunrise! In another way, we anticipate the sun even more.

This is good news! This is hope connected to all sorts of Old Testament Scriptures. From the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants, through the psalms of expectation and anticipation, to many prophets who spoke of the light.

Zechariah did not get to see all that he looked forward to. He was an old man when John was born, and there's no record of Zechariah's presence when John began his ministry thirty years later.

We know more than Zechariah. But Luke wrote this part so that we would believe like Zechariah. Zechariah had learned his little-faithed lesson, doubting the word he'd received. The Benedictus is a song of believing. Luke wrote so that we'd have certainty in all that the Lord "spoke by the mouth of the prophets of old."

This includes a future for the nation of Israel. Depending on how you count, we're only about 50 generations into the predominant rejection of Jesus as Lord by the Jews. How many should make us doubt the words of God’s covenants? This has not stopped the mercy of God. This has not changed God's Word. It does mean that parts of what Zechariah blessed God for are still to be seen. There are spiritual and political mercies still to come.

The Most High has come, and He is coming again, He will visit (as verses 68, 78). We are saved to serve. Is it obvious that we are a people living in the sunrise, distinct from those still in darkness around us?

Christians, you are saved to serve. You were lost, you’ve been found, and now you are to be faithful. The Lord has filled your cup again as you have worshipped Him. Now you are called to be poured out again as a drink offering for the Lord this week. Don't hold back!

[May you be] strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. (Colossians 1:11–12 ESV)

Unbelief shuts mouths. When we believe, we speak (as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:13), and when we don’t believe, we don’t want to say anything. This is a principle, and so the sign of silence given to Zechariah was a discipline that fit the doubt, a discipline aimed to grow faith.

Zechariah was given an explicit message from the angel Gabriel who had come from God's presence (1:19). The priest’s first response was doubt. He didn't think it was possible that he and Elizabeth could have a child. He asked for a sign, and Gabriel said, “behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words” (1:20).

The point of this paragraph is to record the birth of the Messiah's forerunner as announced by the angel. But it also shows the renewal of Zechariah's faith, and opens the door for people to start paying attention to God's mercy on the move.

1:57-66

Though the angel announced a son to the soon-to-be dad (1:5-25), dad's been quiet, in more ways than one, since Gabriel shut his mouth nine months ago. There was no mention of his direct interaction with Mary for the three months she stayed with Zechariah and Elizabeth. And even now that the due date has arrived, Zechariah is still not center stage.

As prophesied, Elizabeth delivers a baby boy. It wasn’t a surprise to her, or Zechariah, but it would have been a big surprise to everyone else. She’d kept herself “hidden” (1:24). It appears that only now does she let her friends and family know. "Surprise! A son!"

Any grief they might have given her for keeping them in the dark was surely good natured, because otherwise they rejoiced with her. This is at least the initial fulfillment of the angel's word: "you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth" (1:14). It’s a surprise, but a welcome one.

Everyone recognized this was a sign of God's great mercy. Mercy was part of Mary’s song (verses 50 and 54), and mercy is a key part of Zechariah’s upcoming song (verses 72 and 78). When God moves, He moves with mercy. It's a theme, Old and New testament. Showing mercy to whom God desires to show mercy is at the core of God’s revelation of His glory (as the Lord said to Moses in Exodus 33:18-19). The gift of this boy was a gift of mercy.

This also pokes at our simplistic definitions where we say mercy is not getting the judgment we deserve and grace is getting the good we didn't deserve. Mercy is a potent kind of compassion and relieving provision, not just a buffer or shielding protection.

There are numerous examples in the OT of parents naming their children on the day of birth. Sometimes they waited until sometime in the first week, and historical records show that was rarely done on the eighth day. The eighth day for a male child was the day for receiving the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant: circumcision (see Genesis 17:12, which was part of Paul’s testimony in Philippians 3:5).

They came, mother and father. But what has Zechariah been doing? The neighbors remarked about God’s mercy to her, they rejoiced with her (verse 58). We know he’s been silenced, but what has he been thinking?

As well meaning relatives often do, they’re talking with all their assumptions. The boy's name would be his father's name. At the least it would be a family name.

But Elizabeth speaks up: No, he shall be called John. How did she know this? Did Zechariah write it out for her? Did the Holy Spirit directly reveal it to her? The text doesn’t explicitly answer that question.

Regardless, the people assume she can’t be right. She's not following the proper procedure.

So they tried to get Zechariah's answer. Two things argue that Zechariah was both mute and deaf. First, they made signs, they motioned, gestured, did baby-naming charades. If he could hear, they could just ask and he could make signs. Second, if he could hear, then he also could have just pointed at Elizabeth and indicated that her answer was true. But they all wondered, which was before he started talking. They wondered: how could Zechariah and Elizabeth be on the same page?

He asked, obviously with motions, for a writing tablet. It was a small piece of wood dipped in wax. (There's a great analogy related to this in 1 Peter 2:21, with letters carved directly onto the wood for a student to trace over, it was “under writing,” which is often translated as “example.”) Zechariah wrote the reality: His name is John. No questions. For the first time since talking with the angel, Zechariah sees what he’s supposed to do. He names John by faith. And this opens doors for more faith, for more wonder, and for talking.

And again they Wondered. Little did they know, and they really did only know a little.

Zechariah didn’t know how or when he'd speak again. It happened just as he was told (1:20), but not like he expected. If he remembered the timing, "until the day that these things take place," wouldn't he have assumed that the "things" was the birth? But it's been eight days since then. Was he starting to think that maybe the "things" wouldn't be until John's ministry? What point in John’s ministry? How many father's hearts needed to be turned to their children (1:17)? Zechariah would have been the first one surprised that he could speak again.

John was named by faith. Zechariah obeyed by faith and Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed. Both of these images are physical with figurative implications. He could talk again, and however it was connected, he could hear also.

His first words were praise, blessing God. We'll hear more of his praise in verses 68-79.

God opened and loosed (passive voice verbs), Zechariah responded, and so did the group respond by spreading the story. They were talking (the imperfect tense of the verb indicates an ongoing behavior). "What just happened? Did you hear about the old guy and his wife?" Luke doesn't say, but how much did Zechariah now get to tell Elizabeth? How much did Zechariah tell the others about what happened to him, the rest of the angel's message?

It seems that he must have included some specifics, because as people talked, they realized that there was more to come. They laid them up in their hearts, saying What then will this child be?

“The act of storing in the heart implies not only incomprehension, but also an openness to clarification in the future, a preparedness to live with unclarity in the hope that there will come a time when the puzzling signs will disclose their true meaning.” (Coleridge quoted in Garland)

This is faith. They are paying attention, and also realize they need to keep paying attention. It looks like the start of something significant, but not everything is in the picture yet. They didn’t rush to judgement, but they also didn’t wait for complete hindsight.

Luke adds a comment as narrator: For the hand of the Lord was with him. This is a reference to John, though he's just a newborn. It turns out, there is a reference to his "public appearance" as a grown man and prophet, but that is another thirty years from now.

How many moments of questioning did Zechariah have in those eight days? How many moments of questioning did these people have for the next thirty years? How many generations had been questioning for the four centuries since Malachi's prophecy about a prophet (Luke 1:16-17 from Malachi 4:5-6)?

Mercy moves manifestly, more at some times than others, and mercy does not always look like we thought it would. But mercy always comes because God said it would.

Zechariah was silenced for nine months and eight days because of his unbelief. God showed mercy to him and opened his mouth the moment he acted in faith. What has your unbelief cost you? What would obedience open up for you right now? Is there anything you know from God’s Word that you’re supposed to do but that your little-faith is keeping you from?

Christian, your whole life is to be an embodied, "Amen." What you have received in God’s Word, believe. What example you have seen from Christ, follow. May you bless the Lord, and may the hand of the Lord be on all your work.

May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. (2 Thessalonians 3:5 ESV)